Artist duo uses Canon's R5C 180-3D camera for great-looking VR concerts
A German artist duo creates big recordings on a small budget and wants to show what immersive concerts can really do.
Jérôme Lozano and Björn Sondermann have different professional backgrounds. One works in video post-production and the other is a musician. What they have in common is a passion for music and emerging technologies like virtual reality. Together, they run a multi-part VR concert series.
Technological advances make for better VR concerts
"I already recorded my first concerts with a 360-degree VR camera six or seven years ago, but the results were unsatisfactory, the images were too poorly resolved, the 3D effect was barely there," Sondermann told the Rheinische Post in an interview.
Jérôme Lozano and Björn Sondermann produce their own VR concerts at Ratinger Hof. | Image: Lozano & Sondermann
However, technological progress in recent years ensures better VR cameras. VR headsets have also evolved. The affordable mobile devices Meta Quest 2 (review) and Pico 4 (review) make VR more accessible and expand the target audience for immersive concerts.
Sondermann met Lozano during the Pandemic, and the two creatives launched the On Stage project. With a small team of lighting technicians, cameramen, and set designers, Lozano and Sondermann produce short immersive VR concerts featuring regional bands.
The team uses Canon's R5c VR-180-degree 3D. "The quality is simply breathtaking and has never been seen anywhere with our concept before," says Sondermann.
So far, Sondermann and Lozano's team puts on the VR concerts without a big budget. The two filmmakers are nevertheless confident about the project. Above all, Meta's costly Metaverse concert with the Foo Fighters serves as motivation.
The VR show, released after last year's Super Bowl, is considered a flop and a negative example for VR concerts. Foo Fighters fan Sondermann agrees.
"That was just awful, a typical Hollywood concept. Pixel mush with way too much distance," Sondermann says. "Personally, I think we've come up with something creative and better with very little budget."
VR concerts at The Ratinger Hof
The two VR filmmakers chose a special location for the shoot. The Ratinger Hof in Düsseldorf is considered the birthplace of German punk band Die Toten Hosen and enjoys cult status among fans. In the first part of the On Stage series, the rock band Plainride does the honors and performs their song "Ritual".
The VR concerts will be published on the YouTube channel of VR filmmaker Hugh Hou (see video above), considered one of the widest-reaching content creators in the field of virtual reality.
On Stage's VR concerts can be experienced for free via YouTube VR using VR headsets such as the Meta Quest 2, Pico 4, or Sony's Playstation VR 2 (review). So far, a total of four clips are planned to released each week.
In addition to Plainride, you can look forward to the following artists:
- March 2023: SixTurnsNine
- March 2023: RocknGroll
- March 17, 2023: The Violent Youth
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